Transportation Insight

Don’t scoff at parcel general rate increases, experts say

The annual general rate increases (GRI) published by parcel-delivery carriers FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc. are perceived by many as noise. The tariff rates don’t directly apply to contracts, which govern all shipper-carrier relationships. If anything, GRIs serve as a marker from which rate discounts are negotiated.

The 2023 GRIs may be a little more than noise, however. After years of keeping its GRI between 4.9% and 5.9%, FedEx (NYSE: FDX) hit the market last month with a 6.9% increase, higher than...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/dont-scoff-at-parcel-general-rate-increases-experts-say

Transportation Insight launches Beon for ‘port-to-porch’ services

Transportation Insight (TI) announced Tuesday the launch of its Beon integrated logistics platform.

Beon will be available to the digital logistics services provider’s shipper and carrier customers as well as those of Nolan Transportation Group (NTG), which TI acquired in 2018.

Throughout 2021, TI made significant technology investments, including the acquisition of parcel and e-commerce servicers Spend Management Experts, managed transportation and freight audit servicer Transaver Global,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/transportation-insight-launches-beon-for-port-to-porch-services

Parcel delivery’s phantom peak-mageddon

The port congestion, rail bottlenecks and soaring costs that bedeviled many U.S. supply chains during 2021 didn’t become headline news until the fall. With the holiday shopping season looming, the mainstream media couldn’t get enough of stories linking supply chain problems with the potential for stockouts and late or missed deliveries.

By the end of the year, the non-trade press folks had quietly left the scene with few, if any, horror stories to report. That’s because the holiday delivery...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/parcel-deliverys-phantom-peak-mageddon

Transportation Insight makes TMS capabilities jump with SwanLeap acquisition

Digital logistics services provider Transportation Insight (TI) announced Monday it has acquired transportation management system software SwanLeap Inc. to improve the company’s TMS capabilities, enlarge its carrier network and facilitate a multimodal platform for its shipper customers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“This acquisition accelerates our existing technology development pipeline by two to three years,” said Brian Work, chief technology officer at TI. “SwanLeap has built an...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/transportation-insight-makes-tms-capabilities-jump-with-swanleap-acquisition

LaserShip names Mike Roth, top Amazon logistics executive, interim CEO: Source

Regional parcel delivery carrier LaserShip, which is poised to acquire fellow regional carrier OnTrac for about $1.3 billion, has named Mike Roth, a longtime Amazon.com Inc. operations executive, as its interim CEO, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Barring an unforeseen event, Roth will steer the integration of the two companies, which is expected to lead to the development of the first national parcel delivery network built from regional players. Roth succeeds Brett Bissell, who...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/lasership-names-mike-roth-top-amazon-logistics-executive-interim-ceo-source

FedEx plays game of chicken with parcel shippers’ budgets

The hole that FedEx Corp. finds itself in is, in some respects, not of its own digging. It can’t force people to accept job offers, nor can it control the wages its competitors are willing to pay. It can’t stop or slow the unprecedented surge in parcel-delivery volumes that have pulled forward demand projections by nearly three years. 

What the Memphis, Tennessee-based giant (NYSE:FDX) can manage is the optics behind its competitive response, and how it addresses customer expectations in the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fedex-plays-game-of-chicken-with-parcel-shippers-budgets

Transfix’s ‘right formula’ attracts Transportation Insight veteran

While quadrupling revenue and tripling its enterprise customers, the transportation solutions provider Transfix has brought on elite executives, like recent hire WeWork’s Christian Lee, to help manage the company’s growth strategy.

Transfix continued to add to its roster on Tuesday, appointing industry veteran Sophie Dabbs as the chief commercial officer.  

Dabbs has over 20 years of experience leading teams at multimodal logistics provider Transportation Insights, manufacturer Mondi Packaging,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/transfixs-right-formula-attracts-transportation-insight-veteran

Transportation Insight acquires Spend Management Experts

The parcel delivery business is so hot that even consultancies following the segment are in demand.

Parcel consultancy Spend Management Experts (SME) has been acquired by Transportation Insight LLC, a consultancy and lead logistics provider that itself has a sizable presence in the parcel category. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The deal beefs up Hickory, North Carolina-based Transportation Insight’s parcel consulting business amid surging growth in parcel delivery demand,...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/transportation-insight-acquires-spend-management-experts

Seko Logistics under new ownership

Global freight forwarder and logistics provider Seko Logistics said Thursday that private equity firm Ridgemont Equity Partners has become its majority investor by acquiring a large stake from fellow private equity concern Greenbriar Equity Group LP.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. However, an industry source said the Greenbriar sale to Ridgemont fetched more than $500 million. New York-based Greenbriar, which acquired a majority position in Seko in 2015, will continue as a minority...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/seko-logistics-under-new-ownership

Apple ship-from-store strategy ends total reliance on centralized distribution

Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) unprecedented move to ship upcoming iPhone 12 orders from its stores may be a one-shot deal prompted by the unusual economic conditions of 2020. Or it may be the start of a sustainable trend for a company whose centralized distribution strategy is as old as Apple itself.

In any case, Apple’s immense influence could compel other businesses that may be on the ship-from-store pool deck to dive in. John Richardson,vice president of supply chain analytics for Transportation...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/apple-ship-from-store-strategy-ends-total-reliance-on-centralized-distribution

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